$1 Million to go to Sullivan County for Emergency Communication

Sullivan County just received a rather large grant for their emergency service communications.

In a press released from February 14th, Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo announced that Sullivan County will receive almost $1 million from New York State for emergency communication improvements.

$757,308 comes from the State Interoperable Communications Grant which is funded by surcharges on cellphone bills. This money,however, is being used on a project that was started last year in enhancing the communication on radio coverage.

911 Coordinator Alex Rau says that the new radio system had significantly improved the coverage for first responders adding that they will "continue to evaluate areas where we may be able to fill in coverage and improve interoperability between first-response agencies. In addition, the funding will be used to support the maintenance costs associated with the new radio network.”

$167,204 from the Public Safety Answering Points Grant will be going to the 911 Communications Center. This grant will act as a reimbursement of expenses for call-taking and dispatches.

Gov. Cuomo discussed the importance of first responder communication by saying "“In an emergency, every second counts, and these funds will help ensure our first responders have access to the best and most up-to- date communications equipment, enabling them to get the information they need to quickly respond.”